by Ray Black
Contents
Introduction
PART ONE: Children Who Kill
What Makes Them Kill?
Mary and Norma Bell
The Boy Fiend
Jessica Holtmeyer
Hannah Ocuish
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson
Willie Bosket
Tony Craven
Cheryl Pierson and Sean Pica
The West Memphis Three
Cindy Collier and Shirley Wolf
The Murder of Shanda Sharer
Larry Swartz
PART TWO: Men Who Kill
Are These Men Monsters?
Ted Bundy
The Yorkshire Ripper
The Brides in the Bath
The Cannibal Killer
Vampire Killer of Sacramento
Andrei Chikatilo
Who Was ‘Jack the Ripper’?
The Boston Strangler
Martin Bryant
Charles Whitman
Peter Manuel
George Chapman
Graham Frederick Young
Thomas Wainewright
Where There’s a Will . . .
The Ultimate ‘Psycho’
The ‘Real’ Dracula
The Witch Doctor
PART THREE: Women Who Kill
Can Woman be as Cold-blooded as Men?
Susan Smith
Genene Ann Jones
Nurse Beverley Allitt
Kristen Gilbert
Marie Noe
Elizabeth Bathory
Lizzie Borden
Velma Barfield
Mary Ann Cotton
Florida’s ‘Black Widow’
PART FOUR: Couples Who Kill
Torturous Teams
The Lonely Heart Killers
Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate
Fred and Rosemary West
The Papin Sisters
David and Catherine Birnie
Summing Up
Introduction
Born to be Killers is a study of the chilling complexity and sometimes irrational twists that takes a crime beyond understanding. It studies the cases of children and adults alike, in which the cold-blooded cruelty, the cunning scheming and callous lack of reason in a killing, takes a crime into a different perspective.
This book also tries to get inside the disturbed minds of the people that commit these heinous acts. What possesses them to rape or kill someone in cold blood? Do they really believe they will not get caught for such abominable crimes? These are just some of the questions forensic psychologists and scientists are constantly trying to answer where the violent criminal is concerned. The only way to get any sort of an answer is to try to get inside the minds of such criminals. Scientists need to find out everything they possibly can about the way the criminal mind works, and what factors contribute to make them the way they are – that is no easy task and there is no simple way to go about it.
The background of violent criminals can very often help the police catch offenders before they strike again. By using information gathered from offenders already in prison regarding their preferred methods of killing, it is becoming ever more possible to catch violent criminals.
Serial killers are the most dangerous of all violent criminals. They not only kill until they are apprehended, but they also have a psychotic reasoning that makes it very difficult to catch them. However, there do seem to be many physical similaries in serial killers. Some of these include ritualistic and compulsive behaviour, suicidal tendencies, a history of serious assaults, hypersexuality, a history of drug or alcohol abuse, alcohol or drug-abusing parents, cruelty to animals and finally a unnatural liking for firearms. Mind you it would not be accurate to say that a person who may have one or more of these traits is a serial killer, of course. But, conversely, a serial killer will have some, if not all, of these characteristics.
There are also emotional behaviour signs which may not be obvious to the layman. It is known that many serial killers suffer from chronic depression, feelings of powerlessness or inadequacy, abuse as a child, a rollercoaster of emotions during childhood and a masking of one’s sanity. When interviewed, a vast majority of serial killers did not have recollections of a happy childhood. Many of them suffered emotional and/or physical abuse from either their parents or step-parents and suffered serious neglect as a child.
Violent offenders who rape their victims fall into different categories. There are different types of rapists, who rape for different reasons and do it in different ways. Profiles have been created for each kind of rapist and these are often used in an effort to track down and punish the contrasting types of rapists.
One example is the ‘Power Reassurance Rapist’ and this is probably the most common type. Normally, this type of rapist will carry a weapon, or at least claim to have one. However, the offender will not normally use the weapon or any more force than is necessary to fulfill his fantasy. His main objective is to express his power through sex, not physical injury. This offender will spend quite some considerable period of time with the victim, may even compliment her on her appearance and possibly going as far as to apologize for his actions.
The Power Assertive Rapist’s primary concern is to show just how ‘manly’ he is through extreme violence. This rapist is not remotely concerned with the extent of suffering he causes his victim and usually employs more force than necessary to overpower her.
The Anger Retaliatory Rapist is even more aggressive. This type of offender has a deep hatred towards women and consequently takes out his revenge on his victim, and as a result many of his victims will require hospitalization.
The Anger Excitation Rapist or sexual sadist is sexually stimulated by the amount of suffering his victim endures and he is definitely the most dangerous type of rapist.
The Opportunistic Rapist will rape someone while another crime is taking place, for instance, during a kidnapping or possibly a robbery. This type of rapist will not spend very long with his victim and is usually either high on drugs or drunk during the ordeal.
Mass Murderers are extremely menacing because they act without any reasoning at all. Very often one single traumatic episode will spark off a violent rage in the offender. Acting completely on impulse, the murderer will go into a public area like a park, restaurant, or office building, and immediately open fire on any innocent person who happens to be in the vicinity. He does not expect to come out alive and tries to kill as many people as possible before he is eventually killed himself. This is very worrying because the murderer does not consider the consequences. The only thing on his mind is death, and so there is no limit to the extent of his destruction. These situations are highly unpredictable and probably the hardest to prevent.
Scientific studies have recently found a strong connection between the development of the brain and the nature of violent offenders. Extensive studies have proved that many offenders had previously suffered strong blows to the head, which may have damaged the brain. The damage may be severe enough to alter the control over emotional and certain sensory organs. As a result of this damage, certain people are unable to feel remorse or control their aggression. Another contributory factor is that after many years of emotional abuse, the brain becomes used to it and creates a defence mechanism. People who have suffered from this kind of abuse tend to shut off from other people, becoming antisocial, and when they are confronted often become very hostile. This is their only way of coping with everyday life and the turmoil they feel from it.
Although there is no way to prevent violent crimes from happening, hopefully with new technology we will eventually be able stop it as soon as it begins. Born to be killers – or maybe just born with the n
atural instinct to kill!
Part One: Children Who Kill
What Makes Them Kill?
In February 1993 the world was shocked by the news that two ten-year-old boys had murdered two-year-old Jamie Bulger. The two boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were branded as ‘evil monsters’ and ‘savages’ and people still reel at the concept that this kind of horrendous act could ever have taken place.
Thankfully, cases like this one are extremely rare. Over the last two-and-a-half centuries in Britain there have only been thirty-one recorded cases of people under the age of fourteen killing. Perhaps it is because that children are normally perceived as being innocent and good, that crimes committed by juveniles appear all the more horrendous. The public are generally so shocked and appalled by these crimes, that they immediately want to label the offenders as being ‘freaks of nature’. In the sixteenth century children were seen as being ‘born evil’ and needing to be trained or forced to be good.
Although there is a great deal of resistance to the idea of branding children as sexual offenders, there does appear to be a growing problem of sexual abuse of children by children. This is a great worry to the authorities, as it appears that children who have been sexually abused themselves will frequently become sexually reactive and begin to sexually abuse others. Of course, not all children who become sexually aggressive have necessarily been abused themselves. It may be the result of having been exposed to explicit sexual material and violence. Sex and violence become linked in their minds and, as they develop their sexual identity during puberty, they find it hard to differentiate between the two.
It is quite fair to say that children who abuse nine out of ten times grow up to be adults who abuse. Although the rehabilitation of adult sex offenders is often ineffective, it is a proven fact that children are far more resilient and the trauma that causes them to become abusive can often be alleviated if it is treated early enough. Again and again, the children who kill or sexually abuse another person are merely re-enacting the violence that was done to them. These children may have been the victims of abuse for years and years before they finally snapped and became the perpetrators themselves. In some cases they would kill the family that caused the suffering, but more often than not they would take out their revenge on an innocent victim.
One such example of this is Mary Bell. During her childhood her mother had attempted several times to poison her, had attempted to give her away to a stranger, and then when she was only four, involved her in sado-masochistic prostitution by holding back Mary’s head so the clients could ejaculate into her mouth. With such a background it is hardly surprising that by the time she was eleven she was a deeply disturbed child who had murdered two boys.
A more up-to-date case is that of Brenda Spencer. On January 29, 1979 who positioned herself outside the Cleveland Elementary School and waited for the headmaster to open the building. As soon as the children started arriving at the school, Brenda opened fire. For a total of twenty minutes she took out her revenge on the children and teachers alike, and in which time Brenda managed to kill the principal and school caretaker, also injuring nine children aged between six and twelve. Once she tired of the game, Brenda went home and waited for the police. She eventually gave herself up after two hours of questioning. For her it had all been worth it, for she had gained twenty minutes worth of attention, something which she greatly lacked at home.
Another really shocking case was that of the sixteen-year-old Jessica Holtmeyer, who hanged a learning-disabled girl in Pennsylvania and then hit her about the face with a rock. Read the full story further in this book.
All of these children certainly have a character disturbance. They devalue others and lack a sense of morality. Events as those described above have made it ever more clear that psychopathy is not something that is exclusive to adults. In fact, certain child development experts believe that childhood psychopathy is increasing at quite an alarming rate. Their main concern is that these ‘young and inexperienced psychopaths’ will become increasingly more dangerous as they get older. Although they might not necessarily resort to the act of killing, they could learn how to manipulate, deceive and exploit others for their own gain. Because they have failed to develop any bonds of affection during their youth, it does not allow them to empathize with another person’s pain. Instead, they develop traits of arrogance, dishonesty, an unhealthy admiration of themselves, shamelessness and last, but by no means least, callousness.
Children can become wary, distressed, distrustful, resistant or even angry if not securely attached by the first nine months of their life. Studies show that securely-attached children tend to be far more competent and well-adjusted in their later life. This means that childhood psychopathy most probably forms at this crucial early stage of development, especially if the child is prone to a lack of behavioural inhibitions and sensation-seeking. While a born psychopath may have neurological disorders that defy everything we try to do, it may still be possible with the right nurturing to redirect such children before they become truly dangerous.
DEVELOPING SOCIAL SKILLS
It is very obvious from the studies carried out that children who grow up around violence are at risk in their pathological development. It is vital that infants and toddlers develop trust and a feeling of safety in order to have a healthy psychological development. It is quite apparent that if they don’t have a good bond with their parents, they will have a much tougher time outside the home environment.
School years are the time when children develop their social skills and learn how to function as adults, but violence can seriously impair this progress. Studies made of children with violent tendencies has shown that:
• Lack of safety harms cognitive performance
• Children who live in fear will often repress their feelings, which hinders their ability to be in tune with their surroundings
• Children who are regularly exposed to violence tend to lack the ability to concentrate
• Children who are constantly abused are prone to feelings of helplessness
• Constant stress in the home can produce symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
There is certainly a proven connection between certain factors and the risk of violence among adolescents:
• Past violent behaviour
• Substance abuse
• Aggressive peers
• Family aggression
• Social stress
• Character or mental disorders
• Access to weapons
• Focused anger
• Low degree of resilience.
Self-worth, resilience, hope, intelligence and empathy are all essential factors in the building of a healthy character – effective control of impulses, anger management and conflict resolution. Without these skills, children cannot form rewarding relationships with community systems.
Children who kill to solve their problems in fact solve nothing. Society needs to understand the fact that children can form intent to kill, whether or not they understand what they’re doing. They can kill without knowing that it is final, so this point needs to be impressed on them during the early stages of their development. Any signs of lack of empathy or value of another person’s life needs to be caught early and treated, not ignored.
THE EFFECT OF TELEVISION
Do violent television and video games play a significant role in conditioning our children to become violent without teaching them the consequences? Every day, children are bombarded by messages and images from the media – messages about how to behave, what choices to make and what to think. Children even try to emulate what they learn from television, video games and the Internet. They are far more susceptible to these messages than adults, because they haven’t developed the skill of judgment or indeed the ability to process the information they are given.
According to over thirty years of scientific studies violent television programmes and computer
games do appear to desensitize children to violence. While the murder rate doubled between 1957 and 1992, the aggravated assault rate – that is the rate at which people are attempting to maim or kill one another – has multiplied many times more.
Although only a few children may actually act out such violence, it is becoming apparent that brutality is rapidly becoming an acceptable part of our existence. Sensational visual images showing hurting as being powerful and domination of others as permissible, are undoubtedly dangerous to juvenile minds. We are, in short, teaching them that killing is natural. As adults, we know that it is something that does not come naturally and, even with trained soldiers, only a percentage of them can bring themselves to actually kill in situations other than self-defence. Many of the training methods used in the military to prepare soldiers to kill are used in violent media programming.
From very young ages, children are trained to accept violence as the norm. Even cartoon characters aimed at the very young are constantly knocking each other about. In the early 1990s The Journal of the American Medical Association published a definitive study on television violence. They compared regions with television to those without and, keeping most other factors the same, it was proved that where television was introduced, there was an explosion of violence on the playground. Within fifteen years, the murder rate had doubled, which is ‘. . . how long it takes for the brutalization of three- to five-year-olds to reach the prime crime age’. In one particular town in Canada where television was introduced in 1973, there was a 160 per cent increase in shoving, pushing, biting and hitting among adolescents.
It does not take very long before young minds come to associate violence with entertainment. They may possibly eat and drink while watching, so that violence becomes part of a pleasant daily routine. They laugh when there is violence in comedies and are eager to see violent and scary films. Interactive video games that reward violent acts with higher scores, are teaching our children that violence is good. In certain circumstances, the stimulation associated with this type of programming is close to being erotic. They rapidly learn to point and shoot at ‘targets’ which appear to be human, but the consequences of actually taking a human life are never realized in such games. We are teaching our children to kill, but what is more disturbing is that they are learning to like it.
